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In 2018, Los Angeles announced that \u2154 of all cannabis retail licenses would be set aside for Black and brown folks disproportionately targeted by the War on Drugs. And like many in South LA who qualified,\xa0a young woman from the Jungles\xa0saw it as a chance to gain economic parity and generational wealth for her family.\xa0

But if you're lucky enough to get a license, where do you get the resources, financing, and construction knowledge to start a $1.5MM cannabis dispensary? The short answer is you don't. Making under the poverty line and knowing she couldn't do this alone, Aja Allen set out to find a trusted partner to help make this opportunity a reality.

Three years, numerous delays, and Millions later, with the help of a local black-owned startup, Aja finally opened Sixty Four & Hope\xa0(La Cienega above the 10Fwy). A dispensary concept explicitly created to build generational wealth for social equity licensees. Aja is the first LGBTQ owner in LA, and one of\xa021 social equity licensees\xa0to open newly "essential"\xa0Sixty Four & Hope dispensaries, all at no upfront cost to the licensee.

"I want Sixty Four & Hope to be a platform to help people from my neighborhood identify and develop their talents. I want to empower them to be their best selves. I'm ready to get this business up and running so that I'm able to be a pillar in my community," said Aja standing in the middle of the bright and cheery store with its inclusive lineup of LGBTQ, Black, Latinx, and APPI-owned brands. Aja can't believe her day has come, and she didn't spend a dime.\xa0

Sixty Four & Hope is determined to live their ideals\u2014driving economic parity for people of color. This, coupled with a respect for the plant and culture, opened the door to diverse collaborations that strive for authenticity\u2014 Angela Rye, Live Nation\u2019s new Cannabis Nation, Alien Labs, and Ball Family Farms. And prominent Black investors, Troy Carter and Marlon Nichols of MaC Venture Capital and Julius \u201cJ\u201d Erving III, Executive VP at Sony Music Entertainment, who see their support as a well-spent investment in communities of color.